Jayasurya is a gambler. A rank outsider to cinema, he had to go through the grind before he hit when director Vinayan launched him as a hero. Though he had go through a period of highs and lows, the actor found his niche in cinema and has sustained himself with a series of movies that did not always tread the beaten path.
Be it playing a cold-blooded villain in Iyobinte Pusthakam or tickling the funny bone as Shaji Pappan in the Aadu series, Jayasurya has been at ease in a wide range of roles.
After playing footballer VP Sathyan in Captain and a trans-woman in Njan Marykutty this year, he will be back soon as mentalist John Don Bosco in Pretham 2.
In an interview, Jayasurya takes us through different phases of his career.
With Punyalan Private Limited, Aadu 2, Captain and Njan Marykutty all ticking the right boxes, you seem to be going through a rewarding phase in your career?
If such a phase is there, it happens when your decisions are right. We realise it when films click at the box office. In fact, I don’t think too much about the results of a film, as it is not just in our hands alone. I focus on doing only films that I enjoy.
It’s almost 16 years since you made your entry as a hero with Oomappenninu Uriyadappayyan ...
When I came into movies, I believed it’s all very simple. I was not all that serious or focused. But movies like Swapnakkoodu, Pulival Kalyanam, Chathikkatha Chanthu, Classmates, Arabikkatha and Kangaroo became milestones in my career. Then came Cocktail and Beautiful, which completely changed the equation. Punyalan Agarbattis came after that. At that point of time, I was not sure about the kind of films that I should be doing.
Later, I realised that I could mould myself into various characters that did not resemble me in any way. I went to the other extreme and did films that enthused me. That is why I cut down on the number of films as well.
Many young heroes have entered the scene. Does the competition bother you?
I don’t think about competition at all. It is then that we start getting frustrated. I am just looking for good roles.
After doing sequels of Punyalan and Aadu, you are back again as mentalist John Don Bosco in Pretham 2. What is it like to get into the shoes of a character, who is already familiar to viewers?
All the characters I have done till now are there in my head, intact. I can recover them any time I want. Of course, physical changes have to be factored in. Also, we need to convey the journey of the character during the period in between in a convincing manner. After Punyalan Agarbattis, director Ranjith Sankar and I wanted to do a sequel but we didn’t know if it would happen. As Aadu Oru Bheekara Jeeviyaanu was a flop, there was no such plans whatsoever to do a sequel. Still Aadu 2 happened. We did expect Pretham to have a sequel and that has become real now. All these movies had strong characters. There might be another sequel of mine coming up, the details of which I will reveal a little later.
What is the USP of Pretham 2 ?
I feel the story and settings are more complicated in this one. It’s more intense. The humour and the fear factor are enhanced in this. There are some interesting twists and turns in the story as well.
You have an excellent camaraderie with director Ranjith Sankar, with whom you are teaming up once again in Pretham 2 , besides producing it together...
I share a wonderful friendship with Ranjith, which has, perhaps, reflected in the movies we have done together. My role as a producer is thanks to that comfort level and, honestly, I don’t enjoy the burden of handling a production banner.
I just want to focus on acting. He deals with all those responsibilities of a producer. In fact, that is why I haven’t co-produced movies with anyone else.
Shaji Pappan, your character from the Aadu series, is more of a comic character than a typical hero. Isn’t it risky to play such a role in the existing star system?
Although the first part of Aadu was a failure at the box office, my character was not. If Shaji Pappan had flopped, the sequel wouldn’t have happened. It was the audience who made me realise the potential of Shaji. Aadu 3 will happen only if Shaji gets a thumbs up from the viewers.
How was the response to Captain, a biopic based on the life of former Indian football captain VP Sathyan?
After a rheumatic fever during my childhood, I have never really followed any sport and I have never played football in my life. I didn’t know much about Sathyan when I became involved with the film. Still I did feel his presence during the making of Captain . That is the only explanation I had when his family and friends told me how convincing I was on screen while playing him.
Tell us about the trans-woman in Njan Marykutty ?
Considering the pains that I took, it is the most strenuous role that I have done until now. I didn’t get it right during the first three days of shooting and we even planned to drop it then. But it all fell into place after that.
You have turned 40 now. Does that make a difference to an actor or in the kind of roles you accept?
Of course, it will be there. As an actor, even at 40, I can play a 20-year-old. Marykutty, the character I played last on screen, was in her late twenties. But it all depends on the kind of film. I will do a much younger character only if I am thoroughly convinced about the role.
You seems to share a love-hate relationship with social media, though you are pretty active in it?
I feel social media should be used for positive things and not just to get into an argument with someone else. I don’t react to negative comments. But I am active when a film of mine is releasing. I can’t react to everything happening around me. I post only when I feel like it, when I know it can make a difference.
